The Purpose, Plan, And Power Of God

Introduction

Does anyone know what today is? Has anyone heard what’s going on later? THE event of today is about someone important and something significant. Super bowl fifty-one will be played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Some of you may have heard about this somewhat followed event. Some of you may have heard about the two teams, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. There have been plenty of words spoken about the abilities of these two teams and the players who compose their ranks.

I’ve listening to the television as folks look forward to the game today, so many make predictions on what this player will do, or how that player will react. There has been an abundance of “lofty speech” and “wisdom” from players and coaches, from fans and commentators, in print, and on countless sports talk shows. But, in the last few weeks there has been some media blitz, with thousands of reporters grabbing and grasping for any kind of story. Some of the conversation has been expected with talk about one team’s capabilities versus the other, or the statistics throughout the season. Yes folks, today is a special day. Today is football sermon day.

On the Atlanta side…. commentators have stated that the Falcons will win because of their outstanding offense, the best in the NFL, the defensive and offensive talents of an amazing player, Vic Beasley, and a team coach who not only understands his team’s strengths and weaknesses, but understands how to use them to his advantage, and take the risks necessary to close the gap with his adversaries. Oh yes, some say the Falcons will prove to be the champions today!

But, wait, there’s more. Everyone doesn’t exactly see it this way. In fact, all of the conversation hasn’t been on the Falcons side…. Oh no! In fact, other writers believe that New England has the edge in this ultimate pit of football wills. Some believe that the Patriots are going to take the winning trophy home. Some feel that the Pats, as they’re often called, have the right combination of players that can round out the team on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field. Even when some very talented players have left the Pats, New England has found a way to fill the void in the capabilities of the team. But, the biggest claim of those supporting the Patriots, is that, now get this… Tom Brady wants a win just too bad!

So, there you have it, some root for the Falcons while others say the Patriots will be triumphant today. I’ll leave it up to each of you to decide which of these conversations has any real value. Most of the conversation has really been saying a lot about nothing, and the game itself, will settle it all. Someone will do something spectacular. Or something will happen to someone, that’s unexpected, and either awful or awesome. A referee will make a call that some praise, and others condemn, but will likely be controversial. A player will perform less than expected, while another will certainly prove the star player of the day.

The game will decide who the winner is, and the conversation of the past weeks won’t mean a thing. There’s a lot of talk going around that is meaningless in the big picture, and we’ll just have to see how the men perform on the field to find out who celebrates afterwards. So many words, but so little value in the big picture.

The story I want to look at today, is a little bit different. Since I started by talking about commentators and the words they use, let’s take the idea of using words, to look at Paul’s address to the church at Corinth. He’s the complete opposite with how he couch-es what he wants to say. Paul says he didn’t come to them with lofty speech and wisdom. He didn’t, in fact, have a lot to say—at least not about a lot of different things. Certainly, he didn’t say a lot about nothing. He had a lot of things to say, with only a few words to say it in. With those few select words, he didn’t focus on himself, or how great he was, or the amazing way that God selected a fantastic man such as himself. Instead, he focused on three simple concepts: The purpose of God, the plan of God, and the power of God. But, since this is a football sermon, we might throw the old pigskin in here from time to time, just to make sure we stay on point.

So, back to football….

The Purpose of God

Lets start by talking about PURPOSE. In the sport of football, the ball itself is a key component of the game. Without the ball, there can be no game. With such dependence on this piece of the action, the image of the oblong shaped ball has become synonymous with the game. But, even this simple ball has standards.